GRIFBALL FAQ

Grifball is an online video game “sport” played using custom maps and gametypes within Halo 3, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4. Like Capture the Flag and King of the Hill, it is a gametype playable in Halo. Grifball is similar to lacrosse, rugby, or soccer.

 

It features two teams of four players, armed with hammers and swords. A round bomb (or ball) is placed in the center of the court. At the beginning of each round teams rush to the middle of the court in “tip-off” fashion, to retrieve the bomb. The goal is simple: arm the bomb by planting it on the opposing team’s goal. The game is commonly played with five timed rounds, nine untimed rounds, or one timed continuous round. The first team to reach a majority of points (3 of 5, or 5 of 9) wins.

All you need to play is an Xbox 360 or an Xbox One and a copy of the latest game! You can play Grifball custom games in Halo 3, Halo:Reach, Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians. You can also play Grifball in matchmaking in Halo: Reach Halo 4, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians. You can always check out our forums, where you’ll often find experienced Grifballers up for a game.

 

Grifball is playable on Halo 5: Guardians in custom games, as well as matchmaking under the Social playlist. You can download all the official maps and gametypes from the fileshare of Grifball Maps. Simply find that gamertag, access its fileshare, and download everything you need.

 

Yes! Several, in fact. The Good Games League (GGL) is a friendly league that welcomes more laid-back Grifballers. The AGLA Pro and Amateur Circuits are the competitive Grifball leagues. The European Grifball League (EUGBL) is for Grifballers across the pond. The seasons rotate throughout the year, so the start of the next season is never too far away.

 

If you are a free agent looking for a team, check out our special “Recruiting” forum. There, you can create a thread about yourself and look at what teams are searching for new players.

The alternative to joining an already established team is creating your own. Find three friends who love Grifball as much as you do and start up a team!

Keep your eyes on GrifballHub for details about upcoming seasons. The Grifball leagues alternate throughout the year, so there is always a Grifball season beginning soon!

In the meantime you should continue to get in as much practice with your team as you can. Find other teams to scrimmage with and play in the one-night tournaments. Play as much matchmaking as you can. It will only help to improve your game.

Yes. Some people are comfortable playing any position that’s necessary for their team, while others focus primarily on one task.

  • The Runner (aka “Trick Runner”, aka “Grif”) – This is the guy who carries the ball and is responsible for scoring. It’s also his job to function as a quarterback for the team and make callouts for his teammates. A vocal runner is usually much more successful than one who is not. Some teams have a dedicated runner, while others expect every player to be able to run the ball, if needed.
  • Tanks – A tank’s job is really quite simple: plow through everything in their way and create a path for the runner. Most tanks prefer to use their hammer the majority of the time, however there are some tanks (“sword tanks”) that rely on the sword. Tanks are also responsible for keeping the opposing team’s defenders busy, causing them to lose track of the ball.
  • Hybrids – A Hybrid is a jack of all trades. They’re capable of doing whatever is necessary to get the job done, whether it be tanking, running or defending. Many teams assemble themselves primarily with Hybrids, allowing them to field much more versatile line-ups.
Here are a few of the popular terms that players use:
 
  • The Wall Hop – Using the small ledges on the ends of the court, a player can “double jump” to get extra height and evade enemy tanks.
  • The Flowers – By using their own hammer to propel themselves into the air, a player can simultaneously pick up the ball to jump extra high over the opposing team’s defenders, usually for a score.
  • The Hawk Dive –Similar to a Flowers, this is when a player launches themselves into the air with their own hammer and, in mid-air, switches to their sword and attacks the enemy runner from above. Popular in Halo 3.
  • The Pro Run – When a player picks up the ball off the tip-off and runs directly to the other’s team bomb plant for a score within the first 10 seconds of a round.
  • The Franklin – Using the hammer in Halo 4 to purposefully (or accidentally) launch the ball across the court. Named after 343 Industries’ Kevin Franklin, who created Grifball in Halo 4.
  • The Barrel Roll – A move in Halo: Reach’s Grifball Dash where a player could evade while picking up the ball, for an extra-fast, extra long evade.
  • Spawn-Killing – Camping in the enemy’s end of the court, killing the other team as they spawn to create a path for the runner to score. A totally legitimate strategy.
  • Stat-Padding – Racking up kills and medals while the runner makes no effort to score. Also known as griefing, this tactic is a violation of the Xbox Live Terms of Service, Xbox Live Player Code of Conduct, as well as the GrifballHub Player Code of Conduct. It is considered cheating, and is a punishable offense.

There are several Grifball livestreams online that broadcast weekly.

GrifballHub’s official stream is Wednesday Night GrifBrawl, every Wednesday starting at 9PM Eastern.

There is also the Tuesday Casters Showcase, every Tuesday, and Thursday Night GrifBrawl on Thursdays, both starting at 9PM Eastern.

Additionally we have a community game day that airs non-Grifball related game play on Saturdays starting at 6PM Eastern.

Keep an eye on GrifballHub’s main page and the @GrifballHub twitter feeds for live-stream information.

The Hub is always open to submissions from new writers. If you have an article or an idea for an article, e-mail GrifballHub’s content manager Goosechecka at goose@grifballhub.com. As long as your write-up is informative and doesn’t include personal attacks or name-calling, we’d be happy to post it on the site and give you full credit.

 

There are two answers to this.

The first season of the GGL in Halo 4, in late 2012, saw over 400 teams register. As Grifball was one of the default gametypes included with Halo 4, the sport received a boost in popularity. That season was roughly twice the size of the next largest Grifball season, which occurred in the early days of Halo: Reach.

The Grifball tournament with the largest prize and the most attention was the RTX 2015 Grifball Championship. Registration was capped at 16 teams and the total prize pool was $5000, provided by 343 Industries. The Controller Shop also donated prizes, and the tournament was also sponsored by Austin’s Gamerz Galaxy.

Easy as Pie won the finals, played on the RTX Main Stage and live-streamed to thousands of viewers on the Rooster Teeth YouTube channel and on the Rooster Teeth homepage. Each player on the winning team took home $1000. Each player on the runner-up team, Natural Selection, won $250.

Nope! Although GrifballHub is a registered LLC, the site is run entirely by volunteers and it is not intended to turn a profit. All revenue made through donations, advertisement, merchandise sales, subscriptions, and other sources is put back into the site. Typical expenses include site hosting, league prizes, and shipping items to fans.

If you would like to help, we do take donations to help defray the costs of operating the site. If you donate $5 or more, you will gain access to our exclusive “Donor Forum” on the site.